Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association

Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association Premier association for travel consultants who specialize in Destination Weddings, Honeymoons and Ro

An association for travel agents by travel agents who specialize in destination weddings, honeymoons and romantic travel.

What You Should Say About Mexico Many DWHSA members and advisors across North America have scrambled in the past 72 hour...
02/25/2026

What You Should Say About Mexico
Many DWHSA members and advisors across North America have scrambled in the past 72 hours to help clients concerned about the cartel violence in the Puerto Vallarta/Guadalajara areas.
Every few years in Mexico, something captures huge media attention about travel safety there. (Remember the "tainted alcohol" incident a while ago?)
Here are a few things we've discussed with members:
Share the facts - not your opinions. Avoid saying things such as "I've been to Mexico many times - I'm sure you'll be just fine." What really resonates are the facts from independent sources: More than 98 million tourists visited Mexico last year - a record. (It's the 6th most visited country in the world.) Most of Mexico carries a Level 2 U.S. State Department safety advisory rating - the same as Belgium, France, Germany, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic- and Antarctica. And, both officials and agents on the ground in the Guadalajara/Puerto Vallarta area report things are returning to normal quickly after this weekend's events.
Always recommend travel insurance (with "cancel for any reason" coverage if you can offer it) to reassure clients. And, make sure they have contact details for the insurance company before they depart.
Stay in touch with clients affected by events during their trips. You may be limited in what you can do alone - but you can help them get supplier answers (and, at least, you can listen and reassure them).
Things can change of course - but, for now, this weekend's happenings seem to be fading quickly. They're a great reminder for your clients why they were smart to book with you in the first place!

"Newsjacking" to Promote Your Agency Every week brings new opportunities to piggyback on news and happenings and market ...
02/18/2026

"Newsjacking" to Promote Your Agency

Every week brings new opportunities to piggyback on news and happenings and market yourself as a romance travel specialist!
PR experts call this "newsjacking" - basically, hijacking news items and adding your own agency spin.

Here's a great example featuring DWHSA member Victoria Fricke (Vic's Vacations - Inc.)!

When her consortium got involved with a new reality TV show on DWs, she set up a landing page seeking applications from prospective couples to enter the show's giveaway. Then, she literally jumped on a flight to the Dominican Republic to visit the resort involved in the show. There, she gathered tons of social media content to keep "dripping" posts and images out to attract not just couples for future DWs but also those needing help with honeymoons and other romantic getaways. (Inspiring efforts, Victoria!)

You can follow her steps:

During hurricane season this year, you'll inevitably see coverage about that unlucky local DW/honeymoon couple whose plans were canceled due to a storm. You can create a one-page list (PDF) of tips for dealing with hurricanes and offer that on your site and in social media with a link to that local story.
Recently, we saw air travel in the Caribbean upended by U.S. military activity in Venezuela - and, last week, our Canadian members dealt with major airlines canceling Cuba flights due to fuel shortages there. You can do the same - create a one-page list of tips (PDF) and share them everywhere.

When TV shows are based in popular destinations (e.g., "The White Lotus" will film in France this next season), get ready ahead of time with ideas for romantic trips to that region you can set up. (And, don't forget new movies - "Solo Mio" featuring Kevin James and filmed in Italy hit theaters this month.)

Create posts this way, add the info to your web site or blog page, include it in your next marketing email ... it's great original content that portrays you as a true expert in this niche! :)

Image: A Higher Standard/Nickel city Pictures

2026 Wedding Show TrendsThey're expensive, they eat up our weekends, and they don't always pay off.But, wedding shows st...
02/11/2026

2026 Wedding Show Trends
They're expensive, they eat up our weekends, and they don't always pay off.
But, wedding shows still remain a key marketing tool for many romance travel specialists!
We do a ton of training for DWHSA members in maximizing your return from these events. Our best advice?
- Take a helper if you can. You'll want backup if the booth gets busy or you need a break!
- Promote yourself, not suppliers. Don't stock your table with supplier materials. Instead, create a one-page flyer about your agency (and use QR codes in picture frames to send prospects to your site - preferably a landing page you've created just for the show).
- Plan your follow-up steps way in advance. Create a series of nurturing emails you can send after the show to the names you collect in your booth - starting with the night of the show!
Questions about working your next wedding show? Post here or go to [email protected]. Good luck with your events this year!

02/07/2026

226 Days to Montego Bay
It's 34 degrees (F) outside this morning, but we can still almost feel the ocean breeze thinking about DWHSA's conference this fall!
Next week, we'll break down the Romance Travel University schedule here, day by day, so you can see everything we've packed into the event.
DWHSA always focuses on the BUSINESS side of romance travel - how you can actually make some money in this niche!
Here's the site with details:
https://www.theromancetraveluniversity.com/

Your Google Business Profile - Get On It! You hear so much advice about online marketing - post here, buy these ads ther...
02/06/2026

Your Google Business Profile - Get On It!

You hear so much advice about online marketing - post here, buy these ads there ... but where do we advise DWHSA members to start?

Your Google Business Profile.

It's the listing Google shows for your agency. You should "claim" it from Google (register for it) - and start building it out.
The more content and photos you add to your profile, the more credibility you'll gain with prospects who see it.

We've just finished a two-part training with DWHSA members with on-screen demos showing them how this works.

(Interested in training like this? Check us out - JoinDWHSA.com!)

8 Virtual Workshops in 2026Ready to sharpen your skills in romance travel? DWHSA will offer eight full-day virtual works...
02/05/2026

8 Virtual Workshops in 2026

Ready to sharpen your skills in romance travel? DWHSA will offer eight full-day virtual workshops this year:

Four "Romance Travel Boot Camps" focused on the basics of helping couples with all types of romantic trips
https://bit.ly/2026RomanceTravelBootCamp

Four "Mastering Destination Weddings Workshops" drilling down into the details of promoting, booking, and managing DWs
https://bit.ly/2029MasteringDestinationWeddings

These are open to all advisors - so, register today!

(Image: Chris Montgomery/Unsplash)

Take Control of Your Group Contracts!Since last year, DWHSA has been lobbying suppliers nonstop for better terms in thei...
02/05/2026

Take Control of Your Group Contracts!

Since last year, DWHSA has been lobbying suppliers nonstop for better terms in their group room block contracts (for destination weddings and other leisure groups).

Part of that campaign involves helping U.S. and Canadian advisors - not just DWHSA members - manage deadlines with couples/group leaders more effectively, prevent attrition penalties, and reduce the rooms returned unsold to resorts (which then get dumped to the public in last-minute online sales).

That's why, on Monday, Feb. 23, we'll debut a new 99-minute video lesson on "strategic group contracting" - showing you lots of ways you can take control of your group room blocks:

HOLD the correct number of rooms to fit each group
SET your own deadlines for bookings and payments (not just what's in the resort's contract)
RELEASE unsold rooms at the best time to avoid dumping them back on the resort (which will in turn offer them at sale prices that may tempt your group members to book direct instead of with you)

So, on Feb. 23 (in two weeks or so), we'll share that video link with you on this page. It's free for all U.S. and Canadian advisors.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday to DWHSA! Today marks the start of DWHSA's 13th year! Way back in February 2013, Lisa Sheldon and John Ha...
02/02/2026

Happy Birthday to DWHSA!

Today marks the start of DWHSA's 13th year!

Way back in February 2013, Lisa Sheldon and John Hawks turned on the lights - Lisa had already organized a Facebook group for DW agents (this very one, in fact!), and we sent out a press release ... but we didn't even have a functioning web site yet (or even a clear idea of the training and benefits we could offer agents who joined us).

Fast forward to today: We've grown into the world's largest specialty travel association that serves ONLY working advisors as members!

Huge thanks to all of you for joining DWHSA, for getting involved in our committees and SIGs, for attending our conferences and webinars, and for supporting this little dream that started 13 years ago when we just knew there was a place out there for a group that's 100% focused on romance travel specialists. :)

Here’s to all the Travel Advisors out there! Thanks for all you do!
05/03/2023

Here’s to all the Travel Advisors out there! Thanks for all you do!

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Nashville, TN
37221

Telephone

+16157309977

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